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Virtual reality Headset

JG400

By JG400
in The Jim Smith Room

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JG400

JG400

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I had a chance to try out a PS4 VR Headset over Christmas and was hugely impressed , so much so that I decided to take the plunge but for my PC, I was initially going for the HTC Vive but of course they have just announced a new model coming in the next few months, ok so I then thought I'll get an Oculus Rift but was again worried about the cost versus danger of a new model 

In the end I took advantage of loads of Microsoft Mixed Reality ( read Virtual Reality) headsets coming on Ebay BNIB due to them be given away with Super Expensive Gaming Laptops , I have picked up a Dell Visor for £215 which is virtually half its current price , the price being this low means I can start saving for the Next Gen Vive headset bundle due out at the end of the year 

Reviews indicate that these Mixed Reality Headsets have better visuals than both the Oculus and the current Vive, are easier to setup and only slightly poorer spatial control of the wands (i.e. the hand controls) , plus they have the advantage of being able to access Steam (Vive VR Games) , Oculus Game portal and have their own Microsoft VR Apps portal

Really looking forward to getting it later in the week 

In the main will use for gaming but the Microsoft Portal (A virtual apartment with mountain views :blink: ) lends the opportunity to work in a VR environment  (saw a youtube of a guy who had set up a working environment to trade (buying and selling bit coins etc) which was far more productive and cost effective than having several monitors and the desk space to support it in the real world ) 

Anyway I will post an update once it arrives

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maxjam

maxjam

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As a keen PC gamer myself I have been keeping tabs on the various VR kits but have yet to take the plunge, I would be really interested to hear how you get on with it especially with regards to gaming as imo nothing really screams 'buy me' yet.

Also how much room do these things take up in typical use?  Can you simply sit at your desk and look left/right or do you need to be standing up and moving around?

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JG400

JG400

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7 minutes ago, maxjam said:

As a keen PC gamer myself I have been keeping tabs on the various VR kits but have yet to take the plunge, I would be really interested to hear how you get on with it especially with regards to gaming as imo nothing really screams 'buy me' yet.

Also how much room do these things take up in typical use?  Can you simply sit at your desk and look left/right or do you need to be standing up and moving around?

One of the reasons I finally jumped for the Mixed Reality headsets was they do not need additional Cameras positioned (usually in opposite corners of the 'Play Space' ) to provide position feedback , the MR headsets use forward facing Cameras in the headset to determine where your hands (wands) are and some clever software /  accelerometers to determine where you hands are when behind your headset (for a few seconds at most ) e.g. if you swing your arm behind your head to throw a cricket ball , this means that setup is much quicker and you can pick up and move to another room / house with ease

With regards to standing / sitting it depends on the software e.g. on a gaming front Chronos for the Oculus Rift or Skyworld are a good examples of at desk games where as Arizona Sunshine (First person Zombie Shooter) is the classic example of a standup game

When Standing you protect your environment (however small) by telling the PC how big you free space is , this is very quick and easy with MR as you simply trace your free space with the headset (its pretty easy in Vive and Oculus once the cameras are set up) , once set for MR in a particular room it remembers it for that room even after a switch off (must use some form of GPS to recognise where it is)  

There are some great Youtube channels of gaming available like 'Gaming in still life' or 'Paradise Decay' or 'MERPTV' to check out , i know these are 2d renditions but you get to see the potential of the games

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JG400

JG400

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I have had the VR headset almost a couple of weeks and it has positives and negatives, 

 

Negatives first 

  1. You need a reasonable amount of space , the recommended minimum is 2m * 2m clear which isn't always easy to find a room you can clear permanently including a fairly hefty PC and effectively a 2.5 by 2.5 clear space (you really need a border around the minimum}
  2. The Mixed Reality Headsets (Microsoft Specification for VR) are all Software IPD ( interpupillary distance ) which means if the distance between your pupils is not average (64 mm) then the sweet spot for a sharp image gets smaller and smaller , my IPD is above average which means sometime small text is difficult to read the more expensive headsets come also with physical adjustment which would be better

Positves

  1. An unbelievable immersive experience which currently is stopping me going back to normal gaming , I have a few freebie games (Rec Rooms is excellent) some bought ones (The pick is Vanishing Realms ) and some demos and they are all excellent. 
  2. War Thunder in VR is a completely different game , and the currently only one so far that made my head spin abit whilst in an intense Dog Fight trying to shake off a pursuing fighter plane 

 

Overall brilliant really happy with the technology and already started saving up for the new HTC Vive Pro !!!

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